After 19 years in the industry, Yeng Constantino chooses to go independent

MANILA, Philippines, July 15 ------ Yeng Constantino once feared she was a one-hit wonder. After the breakthrough success of her 2006 debut single Hawak Kamay, the former “Pinoy Dream Academy” champion felt a lot of pressure to follow it up with something equally impactful.

“Everybody was asking me to write another Hawak Kamay, which is impossible,” Yeng, dubbed as the industry’s pop rock royalty, said in an exclusive interview with The STAR. “That song is a miracle. Hindi ko nga alam kung paano ko siya nasulat… when I wrote that song, malungkot nga ako eh, pero naging inspirational song siya so hindi ko alam paano ko gagawin ‘yun sa sarili ko.”

Hawak Kamay, to recall, became part of Yeng’s first album “Salamat” (2007), which hit triple platinum status in no time and produced five No. 1 songs, including the title track Salamat. In contrast, her 2008 sophomore album “Journey” fell short of expectations. “My second album was a flop… no hit song,” Yeng acknowledged without hesitation.

“Yun na ‘yung pwede kang mag-feel na one-hit wonder ka. It was super painful that time to face that. And you’d see na may mga bago na dumarating. The attention was not on you anymore… Parang disinterested na lahat kasi ‘di nasundan ‘yung Hawak Kamay. “But that was the season where I learned to believe in myself. Kasi wala nang nakatingin eh. Sinong titingin sa akin (kundi) ako? So, I had to believe in myself. “It’s easy to be discouraged when you see that no one is supporting you, right? Kapag walang naniniwala sa’yo, kailangan ikaw ang unang-unang maniniwala sa sarili mo.”

Turning point

And so that period when she felt forgotten or ignored became a turning point. Yeng recalled how she had gone from doing multiple gigs a day to only one a month. As her family’s breadwinner, she had to stretch every peso.

But she still found a way to invest in her music. That low season became a sort of “creative reset”: writing, learning production and building new songs from scratch, even if no one would be listening.

“Yung natitira kong pera, ini-invest ko sa music. Sometimes ‘yung pera ko, pang-gasolina na lang, pupunta ako sa producer ko and gagawa ako ng demo. Tapos pag nag-record kami, ‘to follow’ na lang yung payment. Wala akong pera. Nangyari sa’kin ‘yan. A lot of people don’t know that. Buti na lang mabait yung producer ko, si Kuya Raims (Raimund Marasigan of Eraserheads, Sandwich and Pedicab). Okay lang sa kanya ‘yung ‘to follow.’”

In 2009, she released “Lapit,” her third studio album composed of all-original tracks and produced by Raimund. It achieved Platinum status, earned multiple awards (PMPC’s Album of the Year and MYX Music Awards’ Favorite Female Artist, etc.) and topped the Odyssey album charts. Among its hits were Jeepney Love Story, Lapit, Wag Kang Magtatanong and Siguro.

From that experience, Yeng learned what it takes to survive in the music industry: “Do you still like what you’re doing even if no one’s watching? Do you still love it? Because if that’s a yes, then that’s enough reason to keep going. “You have to truly, genuinely love this industry. Because it may look like cotton candy from the outside, pero mahirap siya. That’s the reality of it.

“I’m not saying you will not get hurt because you will get hurt. Pero tatagan mo yung loob mo. Kailangan kilala mo yung sarili mo and what your purpose is, why you’re here. Even if your ultimate purpose is, ‘Because I love it,’ that is enough. ‘I love being here. I love music. I want to be in this industry. This is my dream.’ ‘Yun na ‘yun. “And when it’s not your time, learn to clap for the people whose time it is. Celebrate the people who are in their season right now. When you position your heart that way, there’s no bitterness, you can enjoy where you’re at.”

Going indie

Now, Yeng has taken one of the boldest steps as a performer. That is going independent and taking full control of her music after spending most of her career under major record labels. “It’s scary… but I know it’s good for me, it’s good for my growth,” she said. “A lot of artists are looking forward to having big labels, ‘di ba? To be discovered and then magawan ng mga labels ng album. With me, it’s like the other way around. I came from big labels. Almost all of my career I was with Star Music. And then for a year I tried being with UMG. But I decided to be a mainstream independent artist.”

This transition has since given her a renewed sense of purpose. She has formed her own small team, hired a music manager and has been learning about marketing, scheduling, distribution and even financing. It was her talent management agency, Cornerstone, that helped her assemble her own crew. The developments in the industry also inspired this new phase in Yeng’s 19-year music journey. “I must admit na na-inspire ako sa mga Gen Z artist. I like that a lot of them are really releasing music on their own,” she said. “(I thought) paano yun, ano pakiramdam nung risk na yun? Sometimes, you really have to put yourself on the edge… like fanning the flames of my heart for projects to do.”

Her first release since taking the independent route is Lumulutang Nahuhulog, a song about the thrill and fear of falling for someone. Tonally, she wanted to achieve that “feeling of fun and cuteness.” “Parang may iba’t ibang side yung heart ko na tina-tap when I write music and for this particular song, yung child-likeness ko yung mas nag-come out,” she said. For someone very visible on TikTok, Yeng admitted that she wanted the single to channel the vibe of creators on the platform. “Inisip ko talaga yung pakiramdam ng mga creators sa TikTok… yung mga cute-cute na sumasayaw-sayaw. Pero syempre ayokong gawan ng sayaw yung Lumulutang Nahuhulog because that’s not me,” she added.

Worth noting though that the track is a standalone release, not fully representative of her upcoming EP, which would officially mark her return to her rakista roots. “Symbolic lang yung Lumulutang Nahuhulog. It’s about me being in the industry for this long but still really longing to grow and being excited to grow,” Yeng said. “There’s so much more to experience in the industry. As an artist who’s been in the industry for a long time, there’s still so much more to do.”

Source: philstar.com